


I've been waiting for this night

by sam04



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 20:02:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7068022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sam04/pseuds/sam04
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin works at an advertisement agency when Arthur is appointed to be the foto model for the new campaign. And an additional tv spot. Too bad that the co-character already quits after two days and Merlin is the one who has to jump in. He quickly finds out that Arthur isn't a prat as he seemed to be, or is he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	I've been waiting for this night

**Author's Note:**

> I'm finally finished with this story! Only took me about three weeks - okay I was ill but still. I'm so happy! Haven't read it Beta though, so if anyone finds any mistakes, you can keep them :P
> 
> Loads of thanks to MelG_98 as always for her support and inside! <3
> 
> Oh, if anyone wants me to, I may be able to write a sequel/epilogue of sorts :)

**I've been waiting for this night**

 

‘I think you’re deliberately misunderstanding me!’ the customer snapped angrily and began to pace agitatedly in front of Merlin.  ‘I said it should appeal to the youth! Your photos appeal to housewives in the Eighties at the utmost! If you don’t give me the photos I asked for next week, I will cut down our cooperation to a minimum, I can assure you that!’

 

Merlin ran his hands through his hair and sighed. ‘Cenred, please... the photos were exactly as your secretary wished them to be. You were the one who decided she had to be there so the photos would be just like you want them to be. Yes, the results showed that both housewives and adolescents react well to the photos but that’s hardly a bad thing, is it? It only increases your target group and thus your profit.’, he tried to appease the exasperated man in front of him.

 

‘That is Mister Lark for you, _Mister Emrys_! And don’t you dare try to tell me how to run my business! I’ll be back in a week and if I don’t like the new photos, our cooperation will be terminated and you will hear from my lawyer!’, Cenred snapped and marched out of Merlins office with a furious expression on his face.

 

As soon as the door snapped shut Merlin dropped his head onto the table and moaned. Great. Just great. And the day had started so well. The advertising agency where he worked had finally, after months of red figures, made some profit, even if only a bit.

But if Cenred terminated his contract, they would lose one of their biggest customers and the ruin of the agency would be inevitable.

What they really needed was to land a big contract. One that would give them the opportunity to even think of a future and possibly planning how to save the sinking ship. But without money it would be impossible.

 

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and Gwen, his best friend and co-worker, stuck her head through the resulting gap.

 

‘Hard day?’, she asked and closed the door behind her after he had waved her in.

 

‘You have no idea’, Merlin muttered and run a hand once again through his hair. ‘Is that coffee?’, he asked hopeful as he spotted the big cup in Gwens hand.

 

Gwen grinned. ‘That’s coffee, yeah. But it’s for my best friend who works somewhere around here and whom I haven’t seen in days. There’s just this cheap copy that’s sitting here all the time, pretending to be a workaholic.’, she teased and Merlin felt his conscience tugging at him for neglecting his friends.

 

‘Gwen…’, he started but she stopped him with a wave of her hand.

 

‘Do you think I don’t know you’re trying to save the agency? Just as we all do. We’ll have time for chats again soon, don’t you worry. You have enough other things on your mind.’, she reassured him and finally handed him the cup of coffee.

 

Merlin breathed in the coffee flavour and sighed contentedly. ‘Ah coffee, my life essence’, he smiled. ‘You’re the best!’, he added and closed his hands around the cup.

 

Gwen shook her head. ‘Someday coffee will be your doom’, she prophesised.

 

Merlin fake-widened his eyes and shook his head. ‘Never!’, he stage-whispered but had to grinned as soon as he said it. 

 

Before either of them could raise the subject of Cenred and the supposedly wrong photos, there was another knock on the door. Gwen opened the door and Merlin could see from his place the soft smile that immediately brightened her face.

 

‘Lance!’, she exclaimed and pulled him inside. The dark-haired man looked surprised to see them both but quickly recovered and kissed his fiancée softly on the cheek.

 

’Oh, hello. I didn’t expect to see you both here but that’s even better.’, he greeted them and slung an arm around Gwens waist. Merlin had to avert his eyes for a moment to gain control of his facial expressions. It wasn’t that he was jealous of either of them – his crush on Lance was years ago and even if he wasn’t as bent as the trees in the wind, Gwen would always be like a sister to him. But it had also been years since he had anything more substantial than a One-Night-Stand and it started to graze on his nerves. He was an addict to everything that was even the least bit romantic – he had helped Lance to plan out every Valentine’s day date he and Gwen ever had, for God’s sake! – and always having to be a side character and not the protagonist was making him feel slightly depressed with the years.

 

‘What’s up?’, he asked finally when he thought he couldn’t stay turned away any longer without being impolite to two of his oldest friends.

 

Lance’ face split immediately into a big grin. ‘I have amazing news!’, he said, waving his left hand excitedly. Merlin arched an eyebrow and waited patiently. The current situation of the agency didn’t really prompt him for any excited waving but if Lance was happy then maybe, maybe it was alright to let himself hope for a small miracle.

 

‘We’, Lance started and looked from Merlin to Gwen and back to Merlin again. ‘have a new big deal coming soon!’, he declared. Gwen and Merlin took one look at each other then they were whooping and cheering.

 

‘Really?’, Merlin asked breathlessly and jumped out of his seat. ‘You’re not kidding me? Oh please, tell me you’re not kidding.’ Lance looked at him with something akin to pity. He was one of the few people who knew how much the agency meant to him.

 

‘I’m serious, Merlin. Uther Pendragon asked for us personally.’, he said softly to him. Merlin’s eyes widened.

 

‘Uther Pendragon?! From Pendragon & Son? Wow! I thought they had all their ads done by Nimueh and her agency?’, he asked perplexed. Lance shrugged.

 

‘From what I heard there seemed to have been some quarrel between Pendragon senior and Nimueh. I don’t know any details, just that he terminated all ongoing contracts and decided to give us a chance. He wants to meet with us as soon as possible.’, Lance explained and Gwen let out a squeak.

 

 

‘You know what that means, right? This could be it! Our chance!’ She looked from one man to the other and waited for the message to sink in. Merlin let himself fall back down onto his chair and took a deep breath.

 

‘You’re right, Gwen. Maybe… maybe we really have a chance.’ He let himself give her a small, hopeful smile and she hugged him fiercely.

 

‘We’ll make it into something wonderful, you’ll see!’, she promised.

 

*

 

‘Merlin!’

 

‘ _Merlin!’_

_‘MERLIN!’_

 

His head shot up so quickly that he feared his neck snapping.

 

‘What? I – ‘, he mumbled and looked around for orientation. He was still in his office but he must have fallen asleep if his heavy eyes were anything to go by.

 

‘MERLIN!’ The voice that woke him up was now just outside his door.

 

‘Yes, I’m – I’m awake’, he said, still tripping over words but at least more awake than moments before. Before he could get up and open the door, it was opened by someone else and a blonde girl stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips.

 

‘Where were you? We were waiting for you in the conference room but you never showed up! You-‘ Only then did she seem to acknowledge his dishevelled state and rose an eyebrow. ‘Did you fall asleep again yesterday?’, she asked gently.

 

Merlin blushed. ‘Um.. if it is morning, then yes, I suppose so. I’m sorry I missed the meeting, Ellie, I truly am. What time is it?’, he asked while running a hand over his face. It felt swollen somehow and warm from sleep.

 

‘It’s about 8:30. Look, why don’t you-‘

 

‘8:30? Oh _fuck!’,_ he exclaimed and jumped out of his seat. He fumbled for the nearest file and ran around the desk. Next to Ellie, he paused, kissing her on the cheek. ‘Thanks for waking me up’, he said, then hurried out of the door.

 

At the lift he waited for a few moments, forcing himself to calm down for a bit, but since he was already late he didn’t bother waiting very long and spun around to take the stairs. Only there was a man behind him in a pristine white oxford shirt – freshly ironed too, Merlin noted miserably – with an equally flawlessly knotted grey tie. Merlin also noticed that the man looked more like a greek god than a normal human being, probably because of his soft looking blonde hair and the gorgeous jaw line. He was also holding a big cup of coffee. Or had been holding until Merlin bumped into him and the coffee was spilled all over his white shirt.

 

‘Oh my – _shit_ , I am so sorry! Really, you have no idea!’, Merlin started to babble but the man only held up one finger and closed his eyes. His facial expression changed rapidly from angry red to an embarrassed pink and back to red again.

 

‘Do you have any idea…’ he began and Merlin gulped. He dared to take a look at his wrist clock and his heart sank when he saw the time. 8:37. Uther Pendragon was already waiting for over 15 minutes and if he was now less than eager to cooperate with the agency, Merlin couldn’t even blame him.

 

‘Are you even listening?!’, Greek God in front of him demanded and Merlin blushed.

 

‘Yeah, look, I’m really sorry. Look, why don’t you send the bill for cleaning to the agency? We’ll cover it, of course. But now I have to go. But I’m really very sorry!’, Merlin assured him and then he ran to the stairs. Maybe it was not the bravest course of action but there was so much that depended on the contract with _Pendragon & Son_ that he felt like he could justify his escape. The man must think him a nutter and even if he saw him again, Greek God probably wouldn’t even look at him again.

 

When Merlin finally reached the floor where Uther Pendragon was waiting, he was covered in sweat and it was 8:45. Gwen was waiting for him in front of the lift. She took one look at him, then pushed him into her office and thrust a clean shirt in his hand.

 

‘Put that on. Lance is waiting with Mr. Pendragon in 432.’, she said and turned to leave the room.

 

‘Thanks. Gwen?’, Merlin asked before she could go. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be late.’, he said quietly while he undid the buttons on his shirt. Gwen sighed and turned around.

 

‘I know you didn’t, you daft creature’, she said softly and raked her hands through his hair. ‘Now it doesn’t look as if you just rolled out of bed.’ He smiled at her.

 

‘Thanks.’

 

She rolled her eyes. ‘Hurry up now.’

 

Merlin changed shirts and then hurried out of the office. Room 432 was at the end of the corridor and through the milky glass he could already see Lance talking animatedly with a stoic man that was probably Uther Pendragon. Merlin straightened up and then entered the room.

 

‘Mr. Pendragon?’, he asked politely after he closed the door behind him. Uther stood and looked at him suspiciously.

 

‘Mr. Emrys, I presume. I don’t make a habit of waiting for my business partner. Either they are here or I am not.’ Uthers cold gaze assessed him and Merlin had to force himself not to shiver under his scrutiny.

 

‘Yes, I am very sorry. Another meeting took longer than anticipated. Shall we begin?’, he asked, ignoring that they hadn’t shaken hands. Uther seemed to think of those things as useless wastes of time so Merlin decided to go with his wishes. They needed him, after all, not the other way around.

 

The meeting progressed rather nicely until about half an hour later. Uther was just telling him that the photo-shoot had to be done with his son Arthur as the model and no one else and Merlin was more than happy to go along with that – professional photo models were rather expensive and to afford them was one of the biggest problems for the agency – when the gorgeous man from before burst into the room, albeit with a different shirt. Merlin’s eyes widened when he recognized him and got up immediately.

 

‘Listen’, he said, furiously now, because if this man just ruined the business deal with Uther then…  ‘I know you’re upset about your shirt but that gives you no right to just barge into this room. Seriously, what are you even doing here?’, he asked exasperatedly.

 

‘Arthur’, Uther suddenly said behind him and oh god.

 

‘You’re-‘, Merlin started and stared at the gorgeous man. ‘Oh, no.’

 

Greek God looked smug for a second and crossed his arms in front of him. The top two buttons from his new shirt were open – aubergine this time, Merlin’s traitorous mind supplied helpfully – and it was a little snugger than the old one had been. As he crossed his arms, it seemed even more as if it would burst any minute. Merlin closed his eyes for a moment and tried to compose himself.

 

‘I did try to tell you who I am’, Greek God, no, _Arthur_ said, then he went around Merlin to sit down next to his father.

 

‘Can we continue now?’, Uther asked, a tone of annoyance in his voice. ‘Since you already seem acquainted there is no need for an introduction.’ Merlin nodded mutely and sat down next to Lance once again who had watched the whole spectacle with a bemused expression.

 

‘Right, yes. You were about to tell me what your expectations for the shoot are’, Merlin said and Uther did just that. He told them in such detail he might as well just photograph Arthur himself but Merlin didn’t want to voice that. Come to think of it, Arthur did already look quite uncomfortable as if he didn’t like people talking about him as if he were an object. Well, Merlin had to admit, that he would have felt awkward and uneasy too in a situation like that.

 

Fortunately, the rest of the meeting went swimmingly and another forty-five minutes later Merlin had a signed contract with Uthers and his name on it on his desk. He felt giddy with relief and when Gwen came to ask how it went, he unceremoniously invited both her and Lance out for a drink after work. They were more than happy to comply, seeing as how they really hadn’t seen each other apart from work in weeks.

 

When evening came, a few other colleagues joined them in the local pub. Freya, the quiet graphic designer who Merlin knew had a crush on him ever since he interviewed her for the position two years ago, and Elena, of course, the best photographer he encountered since working at the agency, slid next to the three of them in the booth.

 

‘Hi!’, Merlin said happily to them and sipped at his pint. Freya just nodded shyly at him from the other end of the table but Elena had taken the seat next to him and grinned at him.

 

‘Hello there, stranger! Good day?’, she asked and he nodded.

 

‘ _Brilliant_ day!’, he empathized and she rose an eyebrow.

 

‘Oooh, do tell!’, she giggled and took a drink from her blue and green cocktail. Merlin shrugged.

 

‘We got the big deal, what’s more to tell?’, he asked. Next to him he could hear Lance mutter something under his breath and Gwen snorted un-lady-like into her coke.

  
‘What?’ Merlin looked confused to them. ‘What did I miss?’

 

‘Well…’ Lance looked half uncomfortable, half amused. Before he could answer, Merlin heard the most beautiful laugh on the other end of the pub. Intrigued he turned his head, fully expecting to take his chance tonight and just go for it, but as soon as he found the source, he dearly wished he hadn’t.

 

Arthur _Greek God_ Pendragon sat just across him on the other end of the pub and laughed his stupidly attractive laugh. Oh god, why today? It definitely seemed that the fate was against him if he couldn’t even have just one night out without someone ruining it. At least he hadn’t seen Merlin yet, he was preoccupied with his two friends that were sitting at his table and one of them was animatedly telling them something.

 

Perhaps it was stupid of him – okay, it definitely was stupid of him but he was known to do stupid things, not that that was an excuse but just an explanation – but he couldn’t take his eyes of Arthur. He seemed entirely different now than he had when sitting next to his father. He had been stiff and full of arrogance, nothing like the relaxed man he seemed to be when in company of his friends. He definitely laughed more, Merlin noticed when the man with the waving hands started to tell another story, but who in his right mind would laugh in the presence of Uther Pendragon?

 

‘-rlin? _Merlin!’_ A voice interrupted his thoughts and Merlin blinked.

 

‘What?’, he asked, shaking his head a bit to try and clear it.

 

‘You were miles away! What were you- _oh wow_ ’ Ellie’s mouth snapped shut as she looked in the direction Merlin had been staring. Merlin closed his eyes for a moment to calm his fast-beating heart. He felt a strange jealousy at the thought of Elena finding Arthur as attractive as Merlin thought of him. She would have much more time with him as his photographer and she would get to make him do poses and maybe take his shirt of and then he would…

 

Merlin ripped his eyes open and swallowed his drink down in one big gulp. That was an image he definitely didn’t need in his head.

 

‘Merlin, who is that?’, Ellie asked and Merlin sighed.

 

‘Arthur Pendragon’, he muttered unhappily but to his surprise she just waved his answer away.

 

‘Not him! _Him!’_ She all but pointed at the man with the animated hand-waving.

 

‘Oh. _Oh!_ Him! I have no idea.’, Merlin said, his heart feeling strangely light. She didn’t want Arthur! Not that _he_ wanted Arthur… or that he cared for whoever Arthur wanted. But she didn’t want him so there would be no nude photo shoots and only professionalism and…

 

' _Meeeerlin’_ Ellie’s voice was torn between amusement and annoyance. ‘What is wrong with you today? Come on, introduce me!’, she ordered and his eyes widened.

 

‘What? Ellie, no! He’s a customer! I can’t just harass him in his free time!’, he hissed at her but she just rolled her eyes.

 

‘Ah, nonsense. Uther is your customer, he’s just the pretty requisite. Come on now, don’t be shy!’, she said and took his arm.

 

The problem with Elena was that for a girl she was really, bloody strong while Merlin for a boy wasn’t the strongest. That meant that she could easily haul him over to the table where Arthur and his friends were seated and she could still let it seem as if they were just friendly shoving each other.

 

Arthur didn’t notice them before they were right in front of the table and even then his friend with the hands greeted them first.

 

‘Well, hello there!’, he crowed and grinned lascivious at them, mostly at Elena though, Merlin noticed, who blushed a bit.

 

‘Um… hi’, Merlin said, looking at Arthur and trying, and failing, to look nonchalant. Finally, Arthur looked up and arched an eyebrow at Merlin.

 

‘Merlin, was it? Reduced to stalking your contract partners?’, he asked and Merlin furrowed his brow.

 

‘You’re not my contract partner. Your father is. And just so you know, I just wanted to introduce Elena here to your friend. My duty’s done.’, he said scathingly and was about to turn around when he felt a hand closing around his wrist.

 

‘Are you always this sensitive? Seriously, I was just kidding.’, Arthur said, shaking his head at him and Merlin felt strangely as if he was disappointed in him, as if he had failed some sort of test he hadn’t known of. He straightened up and glared at Arthur.

 

‘Well, maybe you’re not as funny as you think you are’, he remarked annoyed and ripped his wrist free but Arthur just grinned.

 

‘Oh I think I am’, he replied and then turned to introduced his two friends who had watched the whole scenario with bemused expressions. ‘That here is Gwaine’ He pointed at the hand-waving bloke who eyed Elena appreciatively. ‘And this is Leon.’ The other one had red hair and a beard and smiled friendly at them both.

 

‘Do you want to sit?’, Gwaine asked and Ellie readily complied while Merlin stood uncertainly next to her.

 

‘There’s room for everyone’, Arthur remarked and pointed at the two empty chairs that stood around the table.

 

‘I don’t know. I should get back to my friends. I just wanted to introduce her’, he said, raking one hand through his hair. Arthur shrugged.

 

‘Do what you must. I just wanted to be polite.’ He pointedly looked to another direction and Merlin felt a flash of annoyance surge through him.

 

‘Well don’t be polite on my account!’, he snapped. ‘Ellie, text me when you get home, please, yes?’ He didn’t wait for an answer but turned around and stalked back to his own table where Gwen, Lance and Freya were already watching him approach.

 

‘What happened?’, Gwen asked eagerly but Merlin brushed the subject aside, ordered a new pint and nursed it while his friends talked about other things. He knew they were throwing him many curious and some worried glances and he also knew that he was pouting but he didn’t care. There was something in Arthur that got under his skin and he wasn’t used to that. Sure, he had loved and he had been attracted to people but it was always slow and melting rather than these hot flashes of… he didn’t even have a name for it. It was obvious to Merlin that Arthur was a massive prat and that any feelings he might have developed over time would be wasted on him so he decided then and there to bury everything that might complicate his work with Arthur _Greek God_ Pendragon. And the first step was to lose this stupid nickname, for God’s sake!

 

Merlin managed to stay out of the scrutiny of his friends right until Gwen and Freya decided to go to the loo before going home. He thought he had been quite sneaky in throwing glances at Arthur during the whole time but seeing as Lance outright asked him about it, he might have been less secretive than he had thought.

 

‘Eh…’ He didn’t have a clue as to what to answer Lance.

 

‘Do you like him?’, Lance asked and finally, that was a question he could answer wholeheartedly.

 

‘No! He’s a prat.’ Lance chuckled at that.

 

‘Alright then. So he’s an attractive prat, is that it?’ Merlin shrugged.

 

‘Maybe? Yeah alright, he is and he knows it.’, he scowled and then sighed. ‘Look, there’s nothing. I won’t let it interfere with our work, I promise.’ Lance sighed and then lay a hand on Merlin’s shoulder.

 

‘I know you won’t. But I worry about you, Merlin. You deserve some happiness.’, Lance murmured softly. Merlin averted his eyes.

 

‘You don’t have to worry. I’m fine. Worry about Gwen if you want to, she’s your fiancée.’, Merlin said, trying not to sound bitter about it. But Lance was always the one who could read people the best. He gently took Merlin’s face in his hands and turned it towards him.

 

‘You’re not jealous, are you?’, he asked concerned and searched Merlin’s face for something. Merlin quickly shook his head.

 

‘Not like… no. Seriously, no. Look, it’s okay. I’m fine. Please stop it here.’, he pleaded, desperately trying to end this conversation. Lance seemed to have found what he was looking for because he nodded and released him.

 

‘Just so you know – you might not be the only one.’, he said mysteriously and Merlin frowned.

 

‘What?’, he asked blankly. Lance nodded in the direction of Arthur’s table.

 

‘He’s watched you at least as often as you have looked at him.’ Then he went to pay and left Merlin alone with a flaming red face and the feeling that this night couldn’t end quickly enough.

 

*

 

In the days until the photo shoot, Merlin tried to think of ways not to be around the studio. He managed to come up with loads of believable excuses too but when the day came he just couldn’t stay away.

 

He crept around in the background, trying not to be seen by neither Elena nor Arthur but after five minutes Elena had already spotted him.

 

‘So what are you doing, creeping around like a creepy stalker?’, she asked him curiously while smoothing down her yellow dress. He had – _Everyone_ had noticed her steadily increasing mood and Merlin knew it had to do with Gwaine. He was happy for her, he truly was, but that also meant that he would likely come out with them for drinks next time they went to the pub and where Gwaine was, Arthur was too and that was something he forbid himself thinking about.

 

‘I just wanted to see how the shoot was going’, he said but even as he said it he knew she wouldn’t believe him. She arched an eyebrow.

 

‘Then why don’t you sit in the first row where your seat is, _Mister Emrys_? I think it has more to do with a certain photo model that has you all hot and bothered.’ She grinned at him while he spluttered.

 

‘Ellie! I think Gwaine’s a bad influence for you! There is nothing going on between me and Arthur’, he said stiffly and determinately ignored the tiny voice in his head that said ‘Even if you wish there was’

 

‘But you wish there was’, Ellie crowed and Merlin stifled the urge to hid his face in his hands.

 

‘Ellie, for the love of God, _shut up!_ Isn’t he around here, too? This is completely unprofessional!’, he hissed at her and she rolled her eyes.

 

‘Merlin, really, it’s not a crime to like someone. Just talk to him. He likes you, too! Actually he couldn’t shut up about you the night we were in the pub’, she told him conspiringly.

‘You’re already the second one who says that! Why are you saying things that are not true?!’, Merlin complained. ‘And even if, I _do not like him_! Why don’t you see that he’s an arrogant prat?’

 

‘Aw, but Merlin, I didn’t know you feel that way!’, a voice suddenly said behind him and Merlin closed his eyes for a moment against the rush of feelings. Arthur might be an arrogant prat with horrendous timing but his voice could sound like velvet if he wanted to.

 

‘Arthur!’, Ellie exclaimed surprised though Merlin could see the pleased grin on her face. He rolled his eyes.

 

‘What do you want?’, he asked annoyed. Merlin really had enough of people telling him he found Arthur attractive. If Arthur joined them now, he would be even more intolerable than he already was.

 

‘Just enjoying the company of people who think me as worth being hot and bothered about.’ Arthur smirked at him with that condescending grin of his and Merlin wanted nothing more than to punch the smirk off his face. Or kiss it away. Whatever was the fastest.

 

He decided not to deign Arthurs answer with a response and turned around to leave.

 

‘Don’t go, Merlin! You should have a look at how the photos turn out to be!’, Ellie cried, seemingly understanding that he had no interest in being teased any longer.

 

‘Yes, don’t go, Merlin. Whatever will I do without you in the first row, watching and drooling over me’, Arthur commented and that was when Merlin had enough. He flew around and all but pushed Arthur against the nearest wall.

 

‘You! _Shut_ up now! I don’t like you and I don’t find you attractive in the least, no matter what my friends think! Get that in you thick head already!’, he snapped and then finally left without looking back.

 

In hindsight he shouldn’t have gone off like that, Merlin knew that. Arthur could go to his father and file a complaint which could be the end to the contract with _Pendragon & Son_. But it had also felt really good.

 

*

 

One week later, Uther Pendragon called again.

 

He had seen the photos with Arthur and was very pleased with their outcome and thus had ordered a tv spot with Arthur as the male protagonist.

 

Merlin had nothing against that idea per se since tv spots often had a higher success rate than posters and their outcome would be considerably higher. What Merlin had a problem with was the woman Uther wanted as the second protagonist.

 

For the plot Lance had invented for the spot it wouldn’t have been necessary to have a woman play the second part but Uther was most concerned about the chemistry between Arthur and the other character so it had to be someone Arthur already knew. And that was where Vivian came into play.

 

The first thing Merlin thought when he saw her at the read-through was that she was a spoilt brat. He supposed that she was pretty enough and definitely suited for Arthur with her blonde hair and the graceful figure but that was where the similarities ended. His only consolation was that Arthur seemed to be as annoyed from her than Merlin was.

 

Another problem with tv spots was that it meant Merlin had to stay with the filming team nearly everyday to supervise. With the photo shoots he could just as well stay in his office where someone would send him the pictures which he could in return then approve or not. The tv spots though had to be supervised constantly so that they didn’t have to film everything only to redo it when Merlin said it wasn’t exactly as Uther would want it.

 

That however meant he had to suffer through Arthur’s prattishness, Elena’s knowing grins and Vivian’s – well, who was he kidding? The whole woman was a nightmare.

 

At least he wasn’t the only one to think so. On the second day of filming Vivian had pissed off everyone in Make-up and most of the camera crew for demanding to be ‘only filmed from her best side, _not that one, you idiot, the other one!’_ Merlin had to promise nearly each and everyone of the crew a Christmas bonus just to keep them from quitting.

 

It all went completely wrong two days later. At first it didn’t look that bad actually. Vivian – and Elena too – finally had enough when she once again didn’t have her ‘special coffee’ waiting for her when she arrived – forty-five minutes late – in make-up and finally quit after a whole ten-minutes screeching at everyone who dared to talk her out of it. She left the set in disgrace but everyone seemed much more relaxed afterwards even though they now had lots of useless scenes and no second protagonist any longer. Which led to Ellie begging Merlin for help.

 

‘I’m already doing my best! What more do you want from me?’, he asked incredulous when she wasn’t convinced he would really help her. She threw him a portentously look. He stared blankly back.

 

After a moment she all but threw her hands in the air. ‘ _You_ should play the other part, Merlin, honestly!’, she exclaimed.

 

‘ _What?!’_ , he spluttered and then promptly choked on his current cup of coffee. She clapped him half-heartedly on the back and waited until he could look at her without tears in his eyes.

 

‘I’m serious, Merlin. You two have a chemistry second to none. And that’s what Uther wants. You want to ace this deal, don’t you?’, she asked and arched an eyebrow.

 

‘That’s not fair’, he grumbled miserably.

 

‘Life isn’t fair’, she said, entirely too cheerful. Without letting him think about that – truly horrible – idea a moment longer she hauled him over to where Arthur and a few men from the camera team stood.

 

‘Meet your new co-protagonist!’, she said to Arthur and shoved Merlin in front of her. Arthur’s eyebrow rose and he waited for a long moment before he answered.

 

‘Well, I suppose you’re better than a hired help. Marginally, that is’ Merlin sputtered and felt the familiar rage – yes, that’s what it was, Elena, _rage_ – flaring inside him.

 

‘Thank you so very much for your approval, _your highness_ ’, he snapped at Arthur and glared at him. Arthur just grinned back then looked at Elena.

 

‘Can we get back to the scenes then? I wanted to do something else today, you know’, he asked her and Merlin felt hot jealousy surging through as he watched how easy they behaved around each other.

 

‘Got a hot date waiting for you?’, he snarled without meaning to and Arthur smirked at him. He blushed furiously as Arthur looked him deliberately up and down and then said ‘Maybe’ in that appraising voice of his.

 

‘You – I-‘, Merlin stuttered but wasn’t able to actually form a sentence. Arthur left with Elena and Merlin couldn’t do anything but stand there and try to understand what just happened.

 

*

 

The shoot was one of the strangest Merlin had ever seen. He had never actually participated in one as a character but he had seen many during his work for the agency and nothing had ever been comparable to that one. But maybe that was just his imagination because he had been so involved. In hindsight he could say that the shoot changed _a lot_.

 

At first he didn’t even notice that something had changed until the first lunch break. They shot the first scene in one of the parks and he chose to sit down under one of the trees to eat his meagre sandwich. After the first bite he felt someone sitting down next to him and he nearly choked when he saw Arthur who grinned back at him. A normal grin, as if he were Elena.

 

‘So, sandwiches’, Arthur said and Merlin stared at him a bit more. Arthur didn’t seem to get it.

 

‘What’s your favourite?’, he asked and nodded to Merlin’s sandwich that lay forgotten in his hand. Merlin blinked.

 

‘ _What?’_ , he asked incredulous because really, one didn’t go from throwing insults to asking what their favourite sandwich was.

 

‘Your favourite sandwich, _Mer_ lin, try to keep up’, Arthur answered and ah, now that was familiar. Merlin nearly sighed in relief. So he hadn’t been abducted and exchanged against a creepy fake Arthur. But what the hell was he doing then?

 

‘Eh… BLT?’, he asked and Arthur rose an eyebrow.

 

‘That sounded like a question. Don’t you even know your favourite sandwich?’, Arthur exclaimed, sounding inexplicably shocked. Merlin shook his head in confusion.

 

‘What’s yours then?’, he challenged and Arthur grinned.

 

‘Cheese-Bacon-Pickles-Ham-Tomato, of course!’ Merlin blinked.

 

‘Eh… well… that… okay, no I don’t have anything nice to say to that because it sounds horrible. Truly.’ Arthur looked offended for a moment.

 

‘Well, more for me then.’, he said after a moment and seemed to have regained his good mood. Merlin stared a bit more at him.

 

‘Are you… sure you’re alright?’, he asked and Merlin wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was a tad concerned about Arthur. He was vital to the contract with Uther, after all.

 

Arthur frowned. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’

 

‘Well…’ Merlin gestured at him and hoped that would explain it but Arthur still looked confused. ‘You’re _here._ With _me!_ You _hate_ me! Remember?’, he asked, all but short from waving his hand in front of Arthurs face to see if he was actually conscious and not just an alien or something.

 

Arthur shrugged. ‘We’re co-workers, are we not?’ he asked. ‘We should be able to have normal conversations.’

 

Merlin blinked. ‘We were co-workers before,’ he tried to point out but Arthur just waved his argument away.

 

‘Nah, you were like… my boss.’

 

‘And that meant you had to be a condescending prat?’

 

Arthur spluttered. ‘I was _not!_ ’

 

‘You so were,’ Merlin grinned at him. It was sort of nice to have a conversation with this Arthur, the one he had had a glimpse of at the pub before he was all prattish and arrogant.

 

The rest of Merlin’s lunch break was spent bickering with Arthur and when Elena called them back to the set, he couldn’t believe he had actually had fun with the prat.

 

‘So…’, he began on their way back and Arthur shot him a look. ‘That was… nice.’

 

Arthur smirked. ‘’course it was. I _am_ nice.’ Merlin rolled his eyes.

 

‘Contrary to popular believe, yeah’, he agreed and then swiftly dodged Arthurs punch that followed.

 

‘So…’ It was Merlins turn to look at Arthur curiously. ‘You wanna do this again or what?’, Arthur asked gruffly and Merlin smirked.

 

‘Well, if you ask so nicely…’

 

‘ _Mer_ lin’, Arthur all but growled and Merlin grinned openly now.

 

‘Okay, fine! What about dinner later?’ he asked and Arthur nodded.

 

‘Yeah, alright. When we’re done for the day? Six-ish?’

 

‘Sure, sounds good,’ Merlin nodded and smiled at Arthur.

 

‘Great… that’s… a date then…,’ Arthur said hesitatingly and Merlin stopped dead in his tracks.

 

‘Wait…you don’t mean…date as in _date?_ ’ Merlin asked with wide eyes. He couldn’t ignore the nervous flutter in his belly when he thought about Arthur any longer, much less after the lunch break they had had, but he couldn’t believe that Arthur would want him _that_ way too. Not after having someone who like Vivian who despite her temper was a beautiful and wealthy woman with charisma.

 

‘That’s an expression, idiot!’ Arthur snapped suddenly but Merlin could see the blush forming on his cheeks.

 

‘Well, if that’s so. Wouldn’t want to be caught dead on a date with you anyway,’ Merlin smirked at him and enjoyed the spluttering that followed.

 

‘I’ll have you know that I have loads of people who would love to go on a date with me!’ Arthur exclaimed pompously. ‘Even if I ask you out, then you will a) know that it is a date and b) you will enjoy it thoroughly!’ Merlin arched an eyebrow.

 

‘Is that so. And you don’t want to date me, is that right?’, he asked, just for good measure.

 

Arthur nodded vigorously. ‘Yes, I _don’t_ want to date you!’, he nearly yelled. Merlin pressed his lips tightly together as not to laugh at him.

 

‘So why did you use a Type 1 if-clause then?’, he asked cheekily and Arthur blinked at him.

 

‘A… what?’ he asked, confused from the sudden change of topic.

 

‘You said, and I quote, ‘even if I ask you out’, that’s simple present for you, ‘then you will know that it’s a date’, that’s simple future. Type 1 is used to refer to the present or future where the situation is real. Meaning, you _do_ want to date me. Just admit it.’ Merlin grinned at Arthur who stared dumbfounded back at him.

 

After a moment, when Arthur still hadn’t answered, Merlin looked a bit embarrassed. ‘I took a lot of literature courses in uni, that’s how I knew that. I was just making a joke, you know. Lots of people use the conditionals wrongly, so I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable. Just tell me to shut up, okay? I know you didn’t mean any of it and I promise I won’t take our dinner as a date. If you still want to go, that is. Oh dear god, tell me to shut up now?’, he babbled and was just short of putting his hand on his mouth to silence himself.

 

‘You were right’, Arthur said suddenly, his voice a bit hoarse.

 

‘I… what?’ Merlins eyes widened comically. ‘You really don’t have to say that for my benefit. I told you, I’m fine, I was just-’

 

‘I know. But you were right. I’m not saying it for your benefit. I… I would like to date you. You’re… different’ Arthur sounded as if he had to force every word out of his mouth but he kept going. ‘You’re telling me when I’m a prat, no one else does. And you’re… I don’t know!’ He sounded definitely frustrated now.

 

‘I’ve never met anyone like you! Everyone seems to like you-‘

 

‘That’s not true!’ Merlin interjected. ‘Your father doesn’t like me!’

 

‘Shut _up_ , _Mer_ lin. My father doesn’t like anyone and therefore doesn’t count. But my sister likes you and she doesn’t even _know_ you which is frankly ridiculous and Gwaine keeps going on about how you are exactly my type even if I’ve never had …feelings like this for a boy… man, whatever. You’re confusing and I don’t think I want to shut you out any longer.’ At that point Arthur stopped, his chest heaving as if he’d been running a marathon, just standing there and looking a bit forlorn. So much so that Merlin took a step forward and enveloped Arthur in a bone-crushing hug.

 

Without knowing why, he knew exactly that Arthur wasn’t the type to randomly explode like that and Merlin felt a bit bad for having caused that rant. He could see that Arthur felt highly uncomfortable after the confession and he was determined to make it as easy for him as possible.

 

‘You know…’, he began, whispering in Arthurs ear. ‘You’re not so bad either’ He felt Arthur growling and then Arthurs arms were around him too. Merlin was about to take a step back after a moment but Arthur didn’t let him. Without checking if anyone from the crew around them was looking – and they had to be because Elena’s call for the end of break seemed to have been ages ago – Arthur crushed his lips on Merlin’s and effectively silenced any thoughts in his head.

 

Arthurs lips were dry and a little chapped but it didn’t matter because the inside of his mouth was hot and wet and his tongue was _oh so wonderful._ Merlin felt as if he could spend hours, days just kissing Arthur and he would be happy but as fate willed they were still in public and _on set_ , for that matter, and someone was bound to notice them sooner or later.

 

The clearing of someone’s throat made them jump apart and then blush guiltily under Elena’s amused look.

 

‘So,’ she said, looking from Arthur to Merlin. ‘While I’m very happy that you seem to have come to an… understanding’ She grinned at them and Merlin’s blush intensified but then she continued in a stricter voice. ‘But we are on a schedule here and we can’t have everyone waiting for you too! Now, chop chop!’ And with that she ushered them back to their places where the cameramen were already waiting for them, some of them looking rather amused.

 

*

 

After they were done for the day Merlin convinced Arthur to let him go home for half an hour to shower and for a change of clothes. Despite Arthur’s snotty comments ( _‘You don’t have to play dress up for me,_ Mer _lin, I like you even if you’re looking like an idiot – which you do, most of the time’)_ he managed to go home and be finished within twenty minutes.

He made Arthur promise not to wait on him in front of his house, though, and thus had to take a cab to the restaurant where they were supposed to meet.

 

Merlin had to admit that he was nervous. He felt as if he had swallowed hundreds of butterflies that somehow turned into airplanes the closer he got to the restaurant. He couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss earlier and its implications. That Arthur would kiss him in public like that could only mean that he was serious about this, right? And that he would admit his insecurities to Merlin and that he’s never had a male lover before – he had to mean it!

Oh, Merlin knew that Arthur had been famous for his string of models and escort service ladys and that only fuelled his worries about Arthurs intentions. Everyone knew about Arthurs short-lived (alright, all of Arthur’s flings were short-lived) affair with Vivian which had been the reason for Uther demanding her as the co-character to Arthur’s in the tv spot. It worried Merlin a lot that they hadn’t talked about those things before.

 

_‘You haven’t talked to him at all without insulting him in any way before today,’_ reminded him a small voice in his head that Merlin could only agree to. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Arthur – in fact, he would be the first to admit that the blonde man made him bloody crazy – but what did he really know about him? Slowly but surely he came to the realisation that maybe they had jumped head first in something they should have talked seriously about beforehand.

 

When the cab stopped in front of the restaurant, Merlin wasn’t just nervous. He felt as if hundreds of bees were crawling inside his limbs and he was nauseous with the thought of confronting Arthur. He wanted nothing more than to pull the prat with him and take him to bed but he knew he wouldn’t enjoy it before they hadn’t talked. Okay, so he would enjoy it but not as much as he would after the talk. Probably.

 

Merlin entered the restaurant after paying the cabbie and had to pause to stare for a moment at the posh interior. The maître d’ threw him a look he couldn’t identify when he gave her Arthur’s name but he decided to ignore it. He was more than relieved to have stopped at home and changed his clothes. His black trousers and button-down shirt still weren’t the proper attire for the place but it was at least better than the old jeans with the holes he’d been wearing before.

 

As he was led to Arthur’s table, he suddenly understood the look of the maître d’ from before, because Arthur was decidedly _not alone_. There was a woman sat beside him, so close that she could have said on his lap, and Merlin recognized her immediately.

 

‘Oh, Arthur-darlin’,’ Vivian screeched with her unfortunately shrill voice and Merlin had to grimace in Arthur’s stead. ‘I’m so happy that you decided to take our relationship to a new level! You know I was completely fine with how things were before, the open kind of relationship but your proposal just leaves me breathless!’

 

Merlin stopped dead in his tracks. Arthur sat with his back turned to him so he hadn’t seen him coming but Merlin didn’t care. He felt himself going numb upon hearing Vivians exclamation and that was just what he had needed to hear to confirm his worries. The maître d’ said something to him but he didn’t hear her and without saying another word he turned and made his way through the restaurant towards the exit. Far away he could hear someone calling him but he was too hurt to acknowledge them. The pain that had started in his heart spread slowly to his limbs and head and he felt his knees wobble as he reached the door.

 

The cold air hit him with at the same time as he realised with painful clarity just how much  and just how wrong he had been in trusting Arthur with his heart. And he had trusted him with it. He nearly hyperventilated as he realised that not only had he been heavily attracted with the blonde man but he also had been falling in love with him without even noticing.

 

How could he have fallen in love within one day? One day of stupid banter and friendly punches and _Arthur being Arthur._ And what use did it? Now he had a broken heart and Arthur would marry Vivian and they would get stupidly gorgeous prat-children with stupidly gorgeous blonde hair who’ll go to stupidly expensive schools and will get all of Arthur’s attention because Arthur had confessed earlier how much he’d loathed it that his father had never had time for him as a child and how he would never want to be like that.

 

Merlin managed to get a cab without looking back at the restaurant. He nearly begged the cabbie to drive faster but a glare from him shut Merlin up. After the first half of the journey, he did look back but he saw nothing but the empty road. He hadn’t known how much hope he’d built up that maybe it had all been a misunderstanding _(‘Really, how could a proposal be a misunderstanding?’)_ and that Arthur would realise it and follow him home but now that it hadn’t happen, he felt empty.

 

That night he sat on his couch and stared at the dark display of his tv, unable to silence his mind and to sleep. He knew that he would have to get up in the morning for the next scenes for the tv shot and he mentally prepared himself for a round of play pretend. He had no idea how he should be able to look Arthur in the eye after tonight and he was almost glad that he had not stayed long enough to hear even one of Arthur’s excuses.

 

Come morning, Merlin had nearly convinced himself that he had been the victim in the whole affair and that Arthur was the prat that didn’t deserve him. Deep down though he knew now that he loved him and that made everything ten times worse.

 

When he arrived at the set a few hours late, without having slept a wink, Elena immediately called him to her.

 

‘You look like hell,’ she greeted him and he grunted in return.

 

‘Thank you, and how are you today?’ he asked, rolling his eyes. He didn’t mind Elena’s bluntness but he wasn’t exactly best company today. She ignored him though.

 

‘Arthur isn’t coming today,’ she told him and Merlin’s heart clenched painfully at the mention of Arthur’s name. He pictured Arthur laying somewhere on a beach, tanning his beautiful skin while Vivian was laying next to him, ordering a cocktail with millions of extras.

 

‘Well, he’ll have his reasons,’ Merlin said scathingly and turned his head so Elli wouldn’t see the hurt in his eyes. ‘If his Highness won’t come in today, I’ll go back to my office,’ he decided and left Elena standing there, watching his retreating back worryingly.

 

*

 

Merlin got the message just before lunch. Gwen stormed into his office with her mobile clutched in her hands, looking frantic.

 

‘Merlin!’ she panted and he arched an eyebrow at her.

 

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked her frowning and got up. ‘Is something wrong with Lance?’ he worried but he could see him coming out of his office a few doors down the hall, looking fine if worried too.

 

‘It’s- it’s Arthur!’ she said and Merlin’s world seemed to stop for a moment. Then it began to turn faster than before and he felt a bit dizzy.

 

‘What? What- I mean, he was fine last night, I mean not that I- what happened, Gwen?’ he babbled and then frantically tried to make sense of Gwen’s words when she explained.

 

It seemed that Arthur hadn’t been fine at all when Merlin had seen him in the restaurant the night before. Vivian had apparently drugged him with some sort of mind-control-poison but she hadn’t read the instruction properly and had ended up overdosing him. Arthur had been brought to the hospital in the same night after the maître d’ had noticed something weird on him and now Arthur had called after he had woken up and not remembering anything from the night before. He actually wanted to apologize for having stood Merlin up.

 

Merlin let out a hysterical laugh when he heard that. He couldn’t believe it. After the night he had had, everything had been a great hoax from Vivian? Just because she couldn’t accept Arthur’s decision to break up with her?

 

Gwen was still clutching her mobile and watched Merlin’s reaction with an anxious expression.

 

‘Merlin?’ she asked hesitatingly at last. Merlin clenched his eyes shut. He felt the loss of sleep from the night before taking his toll and the worry and hurt were painful in his whole body. He looked up at Gwen.

 

‘I need to get to that hospital,’ he whispered hoarsely and Gwen’s gaze melted.

 

‘Oh Merlin’, she said and her voice held a note of pity that Merlin didn’t want to acknowledge. He knew he looked terrible but he couldn’t help it right now. He had to see Arthur. He had to set things right.

 

Within five minutes he sat in a car with Lance to the posh hospital where Arthur was staying. They were silent on their way and Merlin clenched his fingers in his lap. He imagined the most horrible things to expect when he would see Arthur the first time. Would he be unconscious? Would there be lots of tubes on him to help him breathe? He didn’t know and it made him go crazy. He felt Lance’s worrying gaze on him every few minutes and the closer they came the more worried he became.

 

Once they were in the hospital Merlin let Lance deal with all the paperwork and went to find the next nurse to tell him in which room Arthur was. After lots of begging and pleading he finally got the room number in question and dashed through the halls to find it.

He burst through the door just in time to find Uther standing at Arthurs bedside. Both of them went silent the moment they saw him but Merlin could see the surprised but pleased smile of Arthur when he recognized him. Uther on the other hand was less pleased.

 

‘Mister Emrys, what is the meaning of this?’ he began, his tone unmistakably annoyed.

 

‘Mister Pendragon, I’m really sorry, but I have to-,’ Merlin tried to explain breathlessly but Lance who finally caught up with him interrupted him.

 

‘He was worried about the tv spot, sir, you see with Arthur in the hospital the shoot will be later and he was worried that you might cancel the contract because of that,’ Lance smoothly said and Merlin shot him a thankful look.

 

Uther’s gaze immediately softened one iota. ‘Oh, I can understand that. Do not worry, Mister Emrys, seeing as this is absolutely not your fault but solely my sons he will gladly make it up to you. Won’t you, Arthur?’ He shot his son a warning glance and Arthur nodded dutifully. ‘I, however, will of course not cancel the contract. As far as I can see you do a good job and you are very correct in your duty. I assume you will also want to speak to my son concerning the length of his recovery? I will leave you alone then.’ With that he turned and left the room after a polite nod to Lance who mumbled some greetings to Arthur and excused himself as well.

 

Merlin watched them both leave and then turned his gaze back to Arthur who seemed to have watched him the whole time.

 

‘So…’

 

‘I-‘

 

Merlin chuckled a bit but stopped after a second when he noticed how forced it sounded.

 

‘You first,’ he offered and Arthur smiled softly at him. Merlin allowed himself to really look at him for the first time since he came into the hospital room and exhaled. He didn’t look as badly as he’d feared. There were no tubes and he only had an IV in his right arm. Arthur was paler than normal but that was to be expected as well. Merlin took a few steps closer to him.

 

‘I wanted to say sorry. I have no idea what happened after I got to the restaurant and I can only assume that Vivian somehow managed to spike my drinks before you arrived. Did you even see us? I know my father said one of the maître d’ had called the hospital but I don’t know if you were there at the time…’

 

‘I did see you,’ Merlin admitted, his heart clenching painfully at the memory. He could still see Vivians triumphant gaze and he could still hear her shrill voice going on about the proposal.

 

Arthur looked concerned. ‘Did I do… something stupid?’ he asked and Merlin nearly laughed at his uncertainty.

 

‘You always do stupid things,’ he smirked and dodged Arthur’s weak attempt of a punch.

 

‘Careful, I’m an invalid here!’ Arthur complained and Merlin’s smirk turned into a real smile.

 

‘You didn’t do anything stupid. In fact, I didn’t even see you properly’ Merlin turned his face away from Arthur but he seemed to have anticipated his reaction because his hand caught his head and turned him back.

 

‘Then why do you look as if I’d kicked your favourite puppy? What happened?’ Arthur asked and searched his face for an answer. Merlin sighed.

 

‘It was… Vivian. She was going on and on about how you two had been in a relationship the whole time and that you’ve finally proposed to her and that she couldn’t wait for the wedding…’ Merlin’s voice broke a bit at the word _‘wedding’_ and he gulped.

 

‘ _Mer_ lin…,’ Arthur muttered and Merlin felt his thumb caressing his cheekbone. ‘I know that I have a rather… questionable reputation,’ he began and Merlin sighed, already feeling stupid.

 

‘Arthur, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-‘ He wanted to say _‘I shouldn’t have doubted you_ ’ but he couldn’t even bring himself to finish the sentence – mainly because the doubts he had had on the way to the restaurant were still there. He still didn’t really know Arthur. They had had one ‘date’, if you wanted to call their lunch break a date, and while that had been very nice, very nice indeed in fact, it didn’t count as a long dating period where you could get to know each other.

 

‘I don’t blame you,’ Arthur interrupted him and Merlin looked up. Arthur looked sheepish. ‘Like I said, I know my reputation isn’t the best but I have never ever cheated on someone like that – and I never will. That’s not me. I realised what kind of person Vivian was quite soon, believe me, and I broke up with her immediately but that doesn’t excuse any other relationship before. I… I’m not very good at them. It’s not even the being tied down thing, really, just… all the girls I’ve been with, they were so _boring_. Like I knew what they were going to say the second they opened their mouth and I suddenly couldn’t bear being with them for even one minute. But you…’ Arthur paused, staring at Merlin like a man dying with thirst would look at a glass of water.

 

‘You are like the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I feel like I have never been in love before because it feels so different than any of the feelings I had for the women I’ve been with. I want to spend my life getting to know you and then stay with you to discover if you stay the same or if anything changes. I want to be the person you come to when you have problems or when you need help. I want to be the first person you think of when you wake up and the last before you fall asleep because that’s what you are to me. I- I think I’m in love with you, Merlin’ Arthur looked shocked for a moment, as if he hadn’t meant to say all of that but then he just sighed and raked his free hand through his hair. After a moment, when Merlin still hadn’t said anything he looked up sharply.

 

‘That’s the moment you say you love me too, idiot,’ Arthur groused and Merlin arched an eyebrow.

 

‘Now that’s lovely. You’ve been doing that whole love-thing so well and then you destroy it with your insults. Really classy, Arthur,’ Merlin fake-complained but his hand joined Arthurs on his cheek.

 

‘Well if you had just read the script beforehand and hadn’t forgotten your cue, then I obviously wouldn’t have had to insult you. Idiot.’ Arthur grinned at him and Merlin rolled his eyes.

 

‘Clotpole,’ he muttered and leaned in.

 

Arthur frowned at him. ‘That’s not even a word, _Mer_ lin!’

 

‘Sure it is,’ Merlin replied and his other hand went to Arthur’s face to keep him from moving.

 

‘What does it mean then?’ Arthur asked challengingly but his eyes darkened when he noticed Merlin’s gaze on his lips. Merlin felt his breath hitching.

 

‘Two words. Arthur Pendragon. You can even look it up in Wikipedia, there’s a picture of you. Now shut up, I want to kiss you,’ Merlin said and leaned in further to do just that. Arthur kissed him back just as hungrily as the first time and they didn’t break apart until both of them were out of breath.

 

‘So,’ Arthur said smugly and grinned at Merlin. ‘You love me then’

 

Merlin folded his arms. ‘I never said that!’ he exclaimed indignantly but he couldn’t ignore the blush that spread on his cheeks. Arthur didn’t say anything. He came closer and hovered over his lips, millimetres apart and just breathed. Merlin whimpered quietly and tried to get a real kiss but Arthur leaned back immediately and smirked at him.

 

Sighing as if it was the hardest task ever Merlin rolled his eyes and said ‘Alright then, I suppose I do love you. A lot’ Arthur grinned at him brilliantly and Merlin joined him. And then he finally got to kiss Arthur again.

 

The End.


End file.
